Darlene's art work

Monthly Archives: February 2014

Last summer while I was in New Mexico, several classmates started labeling me a surrealist. I immediately thought of Dali and his melting watches and the fact that the original surrealists in the 20s based much of there movement on the works of Freud. This didn’t sit well with me at the time. As I have progressed over the last year other class mates and professors has noticed that my work has a similar look to those done by Rene Margritte. I am very fond of some of his work such as the “Human Condition” series and “The Treachery of Images”, but there are other works of his that I find disturbing and distasteful. Further research has focused on other representational Surrealists and painters that have come to be described as Magical Realists. I am beginning to find a comfortable place in these describers as a warmer, modern version of the former.

One of the requirements for my critique class is to install and present a body of work for critique. It was my turn last week. Words such as fantasy, and surreal kept popping up in the discussion. My favorite comment was “They remind me of works by Chirico, without the empty, lonely feeling.” That is what I am going for. Surrealism with a sense of wonder, or magic. Here are the paintings I presented both on the wall together and as individuals so you can get a closer look.

Heart and hand pressed to the ground, the young gardener watches, waits and hopes.

Fire ignites in countless ways.

She searches the skies with unseeing eyes, welcoming visitors.

The captions are the titles of each work. At first seemed too long, but the feedback I have received has been very positive. Poetic prose seems to fit.